Army Seeks Ways
To Bolster Force in Iraq

Plan Calls for Growing Reliance
On National Guard, Retraining
Troops in Critical Areas

By

Greg Jaffe Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Updated April 26, 2004 12:01 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON -- With security in Iraq deteriorating, the U.S. military is laying plans to increase by about 10% the number of National Guard forces moving into Iraq this fall as part of the next rotation of troops at the same time it retrains more than 100,000 soldiers so it doesn't run out of troops in more than a half-dozen critical specialties.

The most-stressed specialties include military intelligence, aviation, construction, trucking and military policing -- skills most often found among members of both the Army...